News - Debates

Will the health and social care sector be better off when the UK leaves the EU?

03-Jun-16

Vote Leave, Campaign to leave the EUYES
With the UK free to make its own decisions, the care sector will be boosted financially with the Government able to give tax breaks to investors and zero rate VAT.
Some in the care sector have voiced concerns over how Brexit will further exacerbate the recruitment crisis...

Britain Stronger In Europe, Campaign to remain in the EUNO
The health and social care sector is heavily reliant on foreign workers. A fifth of the 1.5m care workers in the UK are foreign with the figure rising to a half in some cities, according to King's College London's Social Care Workforce Research Unit.
The fear is that without...

Poll: Will the health and social care sector be better off under Brexit?

YES

NO

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Should assisted dying be legalised in the UK?

03-Sep-15

Richy Thompson, Campaigns manager for the British Humanist AssociationYES, The British Humanist Association (BHA) is a national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity.
BHA has long supported attempts to legalise assisted dying, assisted...

Mark Atkinson, Interim chief executive at disability charity ScopeNO, Scope, a national disability charity, is opposed to a change in the law on assisted dying. The charity has suggested that the safeguards in the Assisted Dying Bill are inadequate and the definition of who could be included is too broad.
The Bill refers to...

Poll: Should assisted dying be legalised in the UK?

YES

NO

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Should GPs be given a financial incentive to diagnose dementia?

22-Oct-14

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive, Alzheimer's SocietyYES
NHS England has launched a new initiative where it will pay GPs £55 for each time they diagnose a person with dementia. The scheme has attracted both criticism and support.
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive at Alzheimer’s Society, believes the end justifies the means and if...

Katherine Murphy, chief executive, Patients AssociationNO
Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, is dead against the scheme calling it “a step too far” that could lead to a “bounty on the head” of certain patients. She said that good GPs are diagnosing their dementia patients already and that the new scheme...

Poll: Should GPs be given a financial incentive to diagnose dementia?

Yes

No

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Should all disabled adults be exempt from the bedroom tax?

04-Apr-14

Heléna Herklots, chief executive of Carers UKYES
The controversial bedroom tax, which came into effect last year, taxes people living in social housing with more bedrooms than occupants. Under the new policy, people with one ‘spare’ bedroom in their council or housing association home lose 14 per cent of their housing benefit...

Iain Duncan Smith, Work and Pensions SecretaryNO
The Government claims nearly one third of working-age social housing tenants on housing benefit are living in accommodation too big for their needs.
Iain Duncan Smith said: “There are about 400,000 working age households on housing benefit in under-occupied social housing...

Poll: Should disabled adults be exempt from the bedroom tax?

YES

NO

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

If face to face GP appointments are replaced by Skype will it further isolate people who are housebound?

03-Apr-14

Trevor Brocklebank, chief executive of Home Instead Senior CareYES
The Government’s plans to replace face to face GP appointments with consultations on Skype or iPads but there is the fear that it could increase the isolation and loneliness felt by those who are housebound.
Trevor Brocklebank is worried the Government will bring in reforms...

Andrew Graley, healthcare director at Polycom EMEA, a provider of video conferencing equipmentNO
Mr Graley believes criticism of the reforms is down to fear of change.
He says: “People like to stick with the familiar, so it’s no surprise that for many of us, the initial reaction is to reject Jeremy Hunt’s initiative. At the same time, telemedicine has already proven...

Poll: If face to face GP appointments are replaced by Skype will it further isolate people who are housebound?

Yes

No

Maybe

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Is the Government implying disabled people are cheating the benefit system?

10-Feb-14

Philip Connelly, policy manager at Disability Rights UKYes
Disability campaigners have criticised the Government’s announcement that over a million disabled are actually fit to work, claiming it is causing the public to see people with disabilities as ‘workshy scroungers’.
Philip Connelly policy manager at...

Mike Penning, Minister of State for Disabled PeopleNo
It is better to see if people with disabilities can work with support and give them more independence, rather than writing them off as on long-term sickness benefits, according to the Government.
The Government has announced over one million disabled...

Poll: Is the Government implying disabled people are cheating the benefit system?

Yes

No

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Should there be a minimum time of 30 minutes for home care visits?

03-Sep-13

Trevor Brocklebank, chief executive officer, Home Instead Senior CareYES
Home Instead Senior Care’s minimum call out time is one hour.
Chief executive, Trevor Brocklebank, would like to see the Government abolishing 15 minute visits and stipulating at least half an hour for a home care visit.
He says: "One of the central tenets of the care...

Felicity Hindson, executive member for adult social care, Hampshire County CouncilNO
A survey by the United Kingdom Homecare Association found that in England, nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of homecare visits commissioned by councils are for periods of 30 minutes or less, with one in ten (10 per cent) visits commissioned for 15 minutes or less.
Councillor...

Poll: Should there be a minimum time of 30 minutes for home care visits?

Yes

No

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Will care funding plans protect the homes and savings of adults with care needs?

07-Aug-13

Norman Lamb, Care and Support MinisterYES
The care funding reforms announced in July by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb are designed to give peace of mind to adults with savings less than £118,000.
Mr Lamb explains: “These reforms bring reassurance to millions of people by ending the existing unfair system...

Bernard Walker, College of Social WorkNO
Bernard Walker, chair of the College of Social Work's adult faculty expressed deep concerns that the funding may prove ineffective, saying: “We strongly question whether local authorities will be able to cope with the anticipated half-a-million extra people coming forward for...

Poll: Are care funding plans realistic in helping adults with care needs to protect their homes and savings?

Yes

No

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Will the changes to health and social care funding in this year’s Spending Review benefit people requiring home care?

01-Jul-13

George Osborne, Chancellor of the ExchequerYES
In his spending review the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced that the Government will be investing an extra £3.8bn to integrate health and social care.
He said that the investment will improve services for people requiring social care in the community.
Mr...

Mike Padgham, United Kingdom Home Care AssociationNO
However the United Kingdom Home Care Association (UKHCA), the professional association for home care providers has highlighted its view that the changes put for forward by the Chancellor could have a negative impact on both home care providers and service users.
UKHCA chair...

Poll: Will the changes to health and social care funding in this year’s Spending Review benefit people requiring home care in the community?

Yes

No

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Should GPS tagging devices be used on dementia patients?

01-May-13

Suzie Mitchell, police sergeant at Sussex PoliceYes – it stops family carers worrying and keeps patients safe
Sussex Police has joined a number of local authorities in investing in GPS tagging devices for dementia patients that can be worn around their neck, clipped to a belt or put on a set of house keys.
It works through...

Dot Gibson, general secretary for National Pensioners ConventionNo – using tags on dementia patients is treating like criminals
The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) has condemned the move as “just about saving money rather than treating people with dignity”.
Dot Gibson, NPC general secretary said: “This action shows how the social care...

Jane Young, from campaign group We Are SpartacusNO
Jane Young, of campaign group We Are Spartacus, judges the PIP system as unfair to the lives of disabled adults.
In her ‘Emergency Stop’ report she writes: ‘1.8 million people of working age in the UK currently receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA),...

Poll: Will the new Personal Independence Payments (PIP) support society's most vulnerable?

Yes

No

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Should regulatory bodies the CQC and Monitor be merged into one regulator?

07-Feb-13

Robert Francis QC, chair of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust InquiryYES
Among the key recommendations from the Francis Inquiry into care failings at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, published this week, is the proposal that England’s care sector regulator the Care Quality Commission (CGC), should be merged with Monitor,...

Dr Jennifer Dixon, Nuffield TrustNO
Nuffield Trust chief executive Dr Jennifer Dixon welcomed to the work undertaken by the Inquiry but announced caution at the proposal of a merger between the two bodies, commenting:
“There is much to commend in Robert Francis’s report and it is broadly...

Poll: Should regulatory bodies the CQC and Monitor be merged into one regulator?

Yes

No

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Are personal health budgets beneficial for older people?

13-Dec-12

Vidhya Alakeson, deputy chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, which is working to improve outcomes for people on low and modest incomesThousands of patients in England will soon have access to their own NHS personal health budgets giving them more control over the type of treatment they receive. The scheme is designed to help patients who have complex conditions and require care and support.
However in the pilot...

Mo Smith, founder and chair of trustees of Regenerate-RISE, which is working to eradicate isolation among elderly people in the UKMo Smith believes it is unfair to put the onerous responsibility of personal health budgets onto older people.
She says: “I think it is unfair to give older people the responsibility of being an employer as there is a high risk of them being taken advantage of. Generally speaking...

Poll: Are personal health budgets beneficial for older people?

Yes

No

Maybe

To view the results of the poll, you need to vote!

Home care vs Residential care home

04-Oct-12

Lindsey Edgehill, marketing director, Helping HandsHOME CARE “Residential care homes are a crucial part of the UK’s elderly care portfolio and without them the country would not be able to adequately care for its elderly, but it’s important that families understand that alternatives to residential care homes, such as care at home...

Geoff Lane, chief executive, Regal Care Trading LtdRESIDENTIAL CARE “It is undoubtedly true that when we reach an age where we need additional help, the vast majority of people would wish to stay in their own home in familiar surroundings. In many instances this works well but the reality today for too many people is that they are...